The Worth of a Family
by Lillian Smith
Summary: The gifts that Harry received from the Dursleys—whenever he did get any—was nothing short of an insult and truly symbolized how much worth he had in their household. / / What is it like to have a family / / How Harry's abuse looked like to different people - ch1: Ginny, ch2: OC
1. The Worth of a Family

_**Rated: K+**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**_

* * *

**The International Wizarding School ****Championship**

**School: Durmstrang**

**Theme: Dursleys' Fifty Pence Piece**

**Prompts: **

**Main prompt: [Character] Ginny Weasley**

**Side prompt: [Setting] Any Hogwarts House common room**

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**The Worth of a Family**

_**Family**_.

Just how much meaning did that word have?

It's a word that has immeasurable depth if one would think about it. The closest way to define family would be how one would define the word, 'friend'.

Before Harry came to Hogwarts, he had neither.

The Dursleys – it was a disgrace to call them Harry's family. Or at least that's what he told them.

Them, as in Ron, her and the twins. After they (excluding her) had rescued Harry from Privet Drive, he'd told them. 'They won't care if I'm gone anyway,' 'Dudley is a bully anyway,' 'It's a disgrace to call them a family.'

Disgrace, huh?

Ginny bit her lips as she entered into the Gryffindor common room. Sometimes she'd think. Think about Harry – how his life was before he came to Hogwarts, how the Dursleys treated him and how he got through all those years living like he was a Muggle.

"Speak of the devil," she muttered as she spotted him. He was sitting by himself, scribbling down something on his scrolls among several textbooks. She smiled to herself – how did he always manage to look so cool even when he was doing something as dry as studying?

"Mind I sit here?" Ginny said as she slid across the opposite chair.

Harry looked up from his homework and smiled wearily, "Sure."

Ginny had already gotten past the time where she would freeze over his smile, but she'd be lying if she said her heart didn't beat a tad bit faster.

"How're things?" Harry said, glad to find something to do other than homework.

"All right," Ginny shrugged. "How about you?"

"Nothing much – just trying to get by with all this homework," Harry gestured to his Potions essay.

"Right - you've got OWLs this year," Ginny said. "Have you seen Ron anywhere?"

"He's practicing Quidditch," Harry shrugged. "I don't know if we'll even win this year – not after all of us got kicked out because of that old hag."

"Yeah," Ginny said and decided to change the subject to something more cheerful. "So Christmas is coming around. Have you thought of any gifts?"

"Err, I haven't put much thought into it," Harry admitted. "What about you?"

"Kind of," Ginny nodded, as she looked into the fireplace. "I'm just worried if everyone will like what I pick."

"I'm sure people will like whatever you pick," Harry said simply, as he continued with his homework. "I know I will," he added honestly, unknowingly making Ginny's heart flutter a bit.

A comfortable silence settled between them, and noises of other Gryffindors chit-chatting, the fireplace cracking and Harry's pen scratching were the only sounds to be heard.

"Hey, Harry?" Ginny said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

"How did you feel when you first got a present from Mom?"

"In… first-year?" Harry asked, to which Ginny nodded. He paused for a bit and then smiled gently. "I felt really happy."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "It was like I was accepted for being who I was."

"It wasn't weird?" Ginny asked as the answer she got was certainly unexpected. "Because you didn't know her at that time."

"Oh no," Harry shook his head. "Because it wasn't like others, you know? If a random fan gave me gifts, it would feel weird – but it was different this time."

"I think your sweater was a green one?" Ginny said, scrunching her eyebrows in thought.

"How did you know?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Oh – I, uh, saw her," Ginny said hastily. "Yeah – I saw Mom stitching the sweater and asked who it was for."

"Oh."

"What else did you get?" Ginny asked quickly. "In first year."

"Umm, I got the cloak and a flute from Hagrid," Harry said. "I think I still have the flute somewhere."

"You play the flute?"

"During summer sometimes," Harry shrugged. "When the Dursleys are out and I have nothing better to do." Then he added chuckling, "It annoys Hedwig to no end."

"Oh, you must've gotten something from them too, right?"

"Huh? Errm, yeah I did," Harry said. "A fifty piece pence."

"What's that?"

"Muggle money," Harry shrugged. "It's not worth anything, really. I gave it to Ron because he was so fascinated."

"Can you equate it to Wizard money somehow?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Around…two knuts*****, I think," Harry said after he thought for a while.

"You only got that much?" Ginny said, indignant.

"What do you expect? That's probably just how much I'm worth to them," Harry said bitterly. "I mean, these are the people who'd lock me up in a cupb- err, I mean, in my room."

"Lock you up _where_?"

"M-my room," Harry said, as he automatically scratched off something he had written. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about them with anyone. And it wasn't like he had lied. They did lock him up in his room. He was just hiding some other facts…

"Okay…" Ginny said, feeling suspicious and a bit sad that Harry wouldn't confide into her. He never really talked about himself, and she wanted to know more about him.

"What's he like?" Ginny whispered, looking down. "Your cousin."

"He's scared of us," Harry said light-heartedly. "I pretend as if I can turn them all into frogs with a swish of my wand if they don't listen to me."

"Really?" Ginny smiled a little. "But surely not. I mean, hasn't he ever checked your textbooks and figured it out or something?"

Picturing Dudley bothering to read Harry's textbooks gave Harry a strange feeling. If they even saw his textbooks, they'd probably try to burn it. The only thing that was keeping them from doing it was the fact that they were afraid of how Harry's freaky school might react.

"Look, he thinks of us as some weird secret cult freaks," Harry said sarcastically.

"Weird secret _what_?" Ginny asked unbelievably.

"I mean, he hasn't said it yet – he just calls me a freak – but I'm sure he thinks that."

"That's ridiculous."

"What – the fact that he thinks that or the fact that I _said_ he thinks that?"

"The fact that he – or your aunt or your uncle would ever think that. But they don't, do they?"

"Probably," Harry shrugged. "But what I am sure of is that they think something's wrong with me. That something's wrong with all of us. That we're weird and they're normal."

"That's not true-"

"Look, Ginny," Harry said, as his voice shook a bit as he realized that maybe the self-deprecation went too far. Maybe thinking of the way they treated him when he was talking to Ginny was a bad idea. He liked to pretend he didn't care anymore, but that wasn't true. "Even in wizarding terms, I'm not normal."

"Of course not – you, you're amazing!" Ginny started. "Look at you- you're an awesome Quidditch-"

"I'm. Not. Normal," Harry choked a bit. Damn, saying it out loud hurt more than he thought it would. "E-even in wizarding terms – I'm not normal. I'm this stupid _Boy Who Lived_ just because my parents died and I didn't. Just because I got lucky somehow. And everyone admired me because my mom died to save me. And now there's no one here who believes in me – just because no one saw what happened in that graveyard doesn't mean it was true!"

A dead silence followed.

"Harry…" Ginny whispered, breaking Harry out of his trance. That's when he realized that some students were looking his way, obviously thinking that he was not normal.

"See?" Harry whispered. "They all think I'm not normal."

"Harry," Ginny said. "Look at me."

Harry looked at her.

"You're not normal, okay?" Ginny said. "But that doesn't have to be bad, alright? You're a great Quidditch player – the best player of the century. Is that normal? You stand us for your friends and the authorities. You've stood up in front of Umbridge like no one else. You've fought You-Know-Who and got away with it-"

"I-It was just luck, alright-"

"-But it can't be just luck, okay? What about courage? Some people would've frozen and done nothing, but Harry you're _brave_. You have that daring courage not everyone has. That's not normal – that's beyond awesome."

There another silence when Ginny realized that maybe she sounded like a total fangirl and she slightly panicked, hoping that maybe Harry didn't realize it.

"Um, okay," Harry coughed, looking away with a slight blush on his face. "Thanks."

"By the way, Harry," Ginny started, daring herself to go further. "You're not alone. Even if the whole world is against you, you'll still have us by your side."

Harry didn't say anything.

"Because that's what being a friend means," Ginny continued. "It's like having a family."

Harry continued writing.

"So, uh, I have to go – I just remembered – oh someone's calling me!" Ginny said as someone from her dorm called her right in time.

"_Because that's what being a friend means."_

"_It's like having a family."_

Family, huh?

"Friends are better," Harry decided. "If you hate them, just leave them."

Harry wondered what it was like – to have a family and live with someone who truly cared about you. He only had a glimpse of it whenever he stayed with the Weasleys. Every time he was with them, he was always so happy and accepted and he always thought, _'So this is what it's like. To have a family.'_

And then he'd see Molly yelling at the twins, Ron and Ginny laughing at the chaos, Percy and Hermione shaking their heads and disapproving. And every time he'd see that he'd laugh along with them and wonder how his life would have been if the Dursleys were like that too.

If they regarded him as their son, would they have spoiled Harry?

Harry shuddered thinking of that. _Maybe_, he thought. _It was better to be like this._

And yet there was a voice in him, forcing him to wonder what it would've been like. If he was accepted; if the Dursleys didn't think of him as a freak; if they never locked him up; if Uncle Vernon never smacked him; if Aunt Petunia told him about his parents; if Dudley got along with him; if they celebrated his birthdays just as they did for Dudley.

Wouldn't it be strange if he actually looked forward to seeing them every vacation?

Thinking back of his conversation with Ginny, he wondered what would have happened if he told anyone all this. Arthur seemed pretty mad when the Dursleys didn't tell him goodbye the other time.

'_They would probably defend me_,' he thought with a smile. '_And that's exactly why they should never know_.'

The truth was that they wouldn't understand. They didn't know the worth of a fifty-piece pence.

And that is why they didn't know how much worth Harry had in the Privet Drive.

* * *

***The conversion for money from Wizarding terms to Muggle terms was used referring to a post a redditor made on the link:** reddit .

com/

r/harrypotter/comments/43qv9c/lets_talk_wizard_money_a_look_through_everything/

**Please remove the spaces.**

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**Now that I've read it, it sounds a bit...inconsistent? Maybe a bit fast or something? Anyways, I hope the characters weren't OOC. I also hope it seemed legit and not something that can never happen in canon.**

**About the practice round, since I'm new to this, I hope I've done okay enough. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to incorporate the theme properly - or as much as I wanted to - but that was mainly ****because**** of Harry's nature and how he likes to keep everything in him. Even in the occasional ****emotional ****outbursts****, he barely reveals ****much****. And of course I didn't want to make him or anyone else OOC.**

**That's all I have to say.**


	2. No More Fighting Alone

**International Wizarding School Championship**

**Season 2, Round 9**

**School and Theme: Beauxbatons / cemetery / effects of abandonment**

**Main Prompt: [Season] Spring**

**Additional Prompts: [Object] a cup, [Dialogue] "You have to learn from mistakes, not repeat them."**

**Year: 5**

**Word count: 2757**

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**No More Fighting Alone**

He was picking flowers in the garden when he saw a family enter the orphanage. They were a family of four with two boys around the same age, but vastly different in terms of looks. One was very skinny, and the other seemed… well treated; he looked around snobbily, similarly to how their parents did. The family looked at the orphanage children in disgust, and the tall mother told the skinny child, "This is where you'll stay."

The boy picking flowers raised his eyebrow. Could it be that the skinny child was an orphan they were putting up for adoption? He felt sorry for the kid, who looked around a year or two younger than him. He would probably have a bad time here.

Over the next few days, he saw the family come several times, the adults filling out different documents each day.

"My name is Brendan," he said, one day, to the younger boy, to which the skinny boy replied that he was Harry. They talked a bit more, and Harry said he was forced to come here and he was allowed to roam free for a while so he'd get used to the place.

"They aren't my parents," Harry said. "They're my aunt and uncle."

"But they want to give you up for adoption?" Brendan asked incredulously, to which Harry nodded. Brendan continued, "They're your_ family_!"

"Family, my foot," Harry said. "They'd be happy to kick me out. And I'm happy too."

Brendan was surprised. They were a family… Why would they want to be separated? He'd do anything to get a family, yet Harry didn't seem to like having one at all.

"This is not a nice place, Harry," Brendan said. "We don't like it here."

"It can't be as bad as the Dursleys'," Harry countered.

Brendan wanted to tell him that the matron used whips, but the Dursley woman grabbed Harry—not without hissing at Harry first and then looking at the two boys in disdain as they left the orphanage to go home. Their home.

Within a few days, Harry was admitted into the orphanage and Brendan came to know that it would be temporary. When he asked the reason, Harry simply shrugged. It seemed as if Harry didn't mind being away from his own flesh and blood. Be it temporary or not, Brendan was glad to say that he'd found a friend in Harry.

* * *

"Brendan broke it!"

There was a broken cup—and it wasn't just broken into pieces, no:, it was completely shattered. You couldn't get the pieces back together even if you tried. They were cleaning up the dinner table—Brendan and some other kids were in charge—when one of the cups broke. The sound brought the matron to the room, and the next thing Brendan knew, all hands were pointed towards him.

"Ma'am," Brendan started, his heartbeat quickening, "the truth is—"

"I don't want to hear your truth!" the matron shrieked. "Come here, you."

Brendan shivered.

"Come here, this instant." Her voice was dangerous. "Otherwise…"

Otherwise the punishment would be extended. Brendan knew that. But he couldn't move. Someone pushed him, and he staggered. She pulled him by the ear, and he screamed, backing away. She took him to the office room, where she kept all the sticks and whips.

"Your palm," she ordered as she grabbed a stick.

Brendan held out his hand. This wasn't his first time being punished. He gritted his teeth and tried to keep still. As he walked away from the office once it was over, he muttered, "It wasn't my fault."

"What did you say, child?" Nothing escaped her sharp ears.

_Tell her. Tell her the truth. Stand up to her._ Brendan breathed in. _You can do this._ "It was…"—she gave an intimidating glare, daring him to continue, and Brendan shivered—"nothing."

Once outside the office, he was met with a pat on his back.

"Good job," Hailey whispered, smiling at him.

Brendan glared at her.

"Glad you didn't rat us out like last time," Hailey said. "After all, you have to learn from mistakes, not repeat them."

Brendan walked away from her, his hands stinging in pain.

At that moment, Harry confronted him and realised that it was actually Hailey who had broken the cup, and she'd done it on purpose so that Brendan would get in trouble.

"Let's clean up the glass bits, Harry," Brendan said, changing the topic.

It took him a while to notice that Harry wasn't next to him, and he turned to see Harry walking towards the office. Brendan's eyes widened in alarm as he realised what Harry was about to do. He tried to stop him, but Hailey's buddies held him back as they wanted to see Harry get punished.

The matron's dangerous whisper could be heard. "What are you doing here, boy?"

"It wasn't him. He didn't break it." Harry pointed at Hailey. "It was her. She did it on purpose."

The matron turned to Hailey to ask her side of the story. According to her, Harry was lying to save Brendan. Hailey's friends came and backed her up. Of course, the matron believed them. Harry resisted, but the more he did, the worse he was punished. Brendan could do nothing to stop it.

Harry came out of the office, looking very miserable. Brendan opened his mouth to apologise but couldn't bring himself to say anything. Hailey sniggered about it and openly mocked Harry. Brendan kept quiet about the whole ordeal. Here was a kid who stood up for him, yet he had done nothing to help him back.

'_That's just what happens here when you stand up for others_,' Brendan reasoned. But that didn't stop Harry from doing it. He repeatedly called out the bullies, using insults that would shock them into silence, and mocking them as much as they mocked him. The only difference was that they actually got their revenge, and Harry would be punished. It kept on happening the next few days, and eventually, Harry became their newest target.

"Would you stop, for God's sake?" Brendan asked, infuriated. "You're only hurting yourself!"

"_No_," Harry said firmly. Then he muttered something about "not giving them the satisfaction".

"You have to learn from mistakes, Harry, not repeat them!" Brendan snapped.

"It is not a mistake," Harry said stubbornly. "I did it because I wanted to."

"How long are you going to keep doing this?"

Harry simply shrugged and kept cleaning the windows, ending the conversation.

A few days later, the Durselys came back, took Harry and simply vanished. Everyone simply forgot about Harry, and when Brendan asked others, he was met with a blank stare. No one knew about any "Harry". When he asked the matron about it, she was confused and glared at him for wasting her time. He dared not speak about it again.

* * *

**Two years later...**

* * *

The zoo was more crowded than usual because of all the students from their field trip. Teachers guided them in queues—though most of them, to their teachers' displeasures, were all scattered—as the students watched the living creatures of the world in fascination. Several elementary schools partook in this joint field trip.

It was easy to get lost, and that was exactly what happened. It was an accident, really; he hadn't _meant_ to do it. It was simply that Brendan had been awestruck by a huge giraffe and hadn't noticed when everyone had moved away. If only he hadn't been so careless. Panic rose in his chest.

_I'll be fine_, he thought. _They'll come to look for me._

But would they? Did they really care for him? Who was he kidding? It wasn't as if anyone would notice if he just disappeared... They'd be better off without him anyw—

_No. You're not alone anymore._

_You have parents now._

He tried to clear his head. It wasn't the time to think like that—he had to get started and search for his classmates. He ended up near a small park. There was a slide, some swings and benches. One of the swings was occupied by a younger boy. The kid looked very familiar. It was as if Brendan had seen him before, but couldn't pin it down.

Brendan sat down on the other swing. There was a silence, then Brendan turned to the boy. "Hello."

The boy looked startled and looked at Brendan—probably confused at being addressed. Looking at the boy—his wide green eyes, messy dark hair and the skinny stature—Brendan realised who he was. It was that boy—Harry—who had disappeared from the orphanage so long ago. But Harry didn't seem to recognise Brendan… so could he be wrong? Or was Harry really just a figment of his imagination?

Brendan gave a warm smile to the boy. Maybe he was simply a familiar-looking kid… It was probably a coincidence. "You're here from the field trip?"

"Yeah…" the boy said.

"Where are your classmates?"

"I got lost." The boy shrugged.

"You seem pretty relaxed about it," Brendan commented, feeling pretty stupid that he was feeling so panicked.

They conversed, and Brendan came to know that the boy didn't want to be around his classmates anyway. The kid probably didn't have nice classmates.

Sure, Brendan was lost too, but he didn't _want _to be lost. He'd finally gotten a chance—a new beginning, a new life, a new school. He hadn't made actual friends yet, but he was getting there, and his classmates weren't too bad. For the first time, he had felt comfortable—accepted, in fact. Getting lost and feeling so alone, after he'd realise how wonderful his classmates were, was really painful.

For a twelve-year-old, he was too attached. That was just how he was. He quickly got attached to people. He should stop doing that since he realised that it wasn't something people liked.

Brendan turned to the boy and, hoping to make a new friend, he spoke, "I'm Brendan. What's your name?"

"Harry," he replied. Brendan raised his eyebrows. Was he the same Harry?

"What's with your glasses?" Brendan asked, looking pointedly at Harry's taped glasses, which looked even a bigger disaster than his dark hair. When he had come to the orphanage, he hadn't had glasses. "Why don't you get new ones?"

Harry shrugged.

"Are you trying to hide it from your parents?" Brendan smirked.

"No, they just don't get good ones for me," Harry said.

Brendan frowned. He remembered how badly Harry's parents seemed to have treated Harry when they gave him up for the temporary adoption.

"Besides, I don't have parents." Harry shrugged.

"Oh," Brendan said, looking down. That explained it. Perhaps his guardians really disliked him and considered him a burden. Just like how the orphanage had seen him. Brendan suddenly remembered that Harry had mentioned it back then, that he was an orphan too. Brendan had forgotten it.

"I think I'm like you, then," Brendan said.

"You think?" Harry raised his eyebrow.

"I got adopted," Brendan said. "Though I'm not sure how long I'll last. If they don't like me, they can send me back to the orphanage."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's been done before." Brendan managed to smile. It had really damaged his self-confidence. He had failed to live up to their expectations; he had ruined a chance that orphans rarely get; he was really pathetic. He hoped he wouldn't mess up this chance too.

"My aunt and uncle used to threaten to send me to the orphanage, but they suddenly stopped saying that," Harry said. "Once I joked about running away to an orphanage, but they didn't like it at all. They gave me nasty looks."

"There you are!" a voice said. Harry and Brendan looked to see a fat boy with a mean look on his face, strutting towards them intimidatingly with some friends by his side. A classic bully. That was probably Harry's cousin.

"Harry," he said, "our teacher wondered where you went."

"I got lost, Dudley," Harry said, flatly.

"Don't you think it's great that we found you?" Dudley smirked.

"Makes me wish I was never found, _Duddykins_," Harry said. Dudley looked mad; Brendan figured that he didn't like Harry humiliating him amongst his friends. Harry still openly insulted bullies.

"Listen." Dudley narrowed his eyes. "Do you realise that if I tell—"

"Go away, Dudley." Harry stood up.

Brendan sat in the swing uncomfortably. Harry was being bullied again.

_Help him._

Brendan knew he should help, but the sight of bullying still made him afraid. Even though they all seemed younger than him, he was still scared. Hailey was younger than him. Yet she had much more power over him. She was intimidating. Harry's bullies were intimidating.

They were all laughing at Harry, mocking him.

_Harry stood up for you._

He stood up for everyone. Harry was courageous. But Brendan was different. Brendan was a coward. He'd stood up only once, and he'd regretted it.

"I don't want to go back to the class," Harry told Dudley. "I want to be alone."

Brendan was still breathing rapidly. Any minute now, Dudley might get physical. He could feel the tension. He should get away somehow. He wanted to help Harry, but he couldn't.

_"You have to learn from mistakes, not repeat them."_

In other words, don't interfere if you're not a target. Back in the orphanage, Brendan was rarely a target. The truth was that he was usually a bystander. A coward, in other words. He didn't have the courage to stand up, but he knew kids who did. Younger kids, older kids—but they were all taken care of. He was a bystander here too.

"_This is not a mistake. I did it because I wanted to."_

"Sorry, but the teacher wants to see you, Harry," Dudley sneered. "Don't you want to come with us?"

_That's right. Get up, Brendan._

Hadn't Harry helped him before? He didn't have to be afraid. They were just a bunch of kids. No matron. No whipping. No beating. No consequences.

Harry promptly started walking away from them, but one of Dudley's friends grabbed him by the collar—

—only to notice that Brendan was gripping his hand, scowling at them._ That's right._ Brendan was standing up for someone. Why? Well, hadn't he promised to move on? To change?

"No more fighting alone, Harry," Brendan said, and it felt like a _milestone_.

It just took one intimidating look from Brendan, and the confidence of Dudley and his gang instantly wavered. Him being much taller and older than them probably helped. He took that opportunity to threaten them that he'd tell the teachers. He added that he had several older friends who would beat them to a pulp if they touched Harry. Their resolve was considerably shaken.

Brendan took Harry aside, and Dudley reluctantly guided them there. Brendan said goodbye to Harry, and he felt good since he'd finally helped him back. Brendan was indebted to Harry.

His classmates finally found Brendan. They were happy to see him—apparently, they'd been searching for him for ages, and that made him feel like he was worth something. His teacher called his parents to inform them that he was safe and handed the phone to Brendan.

"Your father and I were so worried!" Mother said on the phone. "We were just getting ready to come there and help look for you."

Brendan bit his lip. "I-I'm sorry, Mother." If he were being honest, he was touched. His adopted parents were always so kind to him, and his classmates were _worried_ for him. He hadn't realised how much they truly cared for him. He wasn't alone. And the best part was that he was actually changing. He was finally coming out of that shell. He had stood up for Harry, even though he was so afraid.

Brendan was getting a new start in life. He had a new beginning.

And this time, he had a family.

* * *

**Author's note for the judges:**

**Spring:**

**The meaning of the spring season was incorporated throughout the story.**

**"The spring season is full of transformations." - The way Brendan came across different changes around him—like Harry coming to the orphanage and him trying to change things around him. He didn't try to adjust with the surrounding but he did what he wanted and that was different for the other orphans.**

**"Themes of rebirth and renewal often use symbols from the spring season. Spring also refers to love, hope, youth and growth. Spring is the promise that everything can begin again, letting go and embracing something new. Promise, birth, renewal, new love, romance, starting anew, birds, butterflies, tulips and fragrant blossoms are but a few of Spring symbols." - This one is obvious. Ever since he was adopted and it turned out to be a good family, Brendan swore to change. He swore to be a better person so that he would be worthy of love from his new family. In the story, we can see him take a new step and there's promise for a new beginning. :)))**

**Plus this whole thing takes place in spring, if that counts.**

**Effects of abandonment:**

**First of all, Brendan's insecurities. His self confidence, him getting too attached are all part of it. And there's also all the stuff that Harry has to go through. Do I have to explain more…?**

**Also the reason why no one remembers Harry:**

**Basically what happened is that Dumbeldore came to know that the Dursleys tried to put Harry in an orphanage (the Dursleys actually planned to put him temporarily). Dumbledore immediately spoke to them, obliviated everyone except Brendan (Brendan was in the washroom or something, so they missed him…. I mean, wizards can make mistakes too). Dumbledore had a nice chit chat with the Dursleys. He tried to make them promise that they wouldn't pull such a trick again, but the Dudleys—somehow they were able to hold their guard—said that they wouldn't do it unless they erased all traces of wizards, magic, etc from Dudley's and Harry's minds. So the two cousins were obliviated too :))))))**


End file.
